Kenmore front load HE washer odor

Some water softeners you can increase the back wash time on the unit to clear out a smell or bad taste , rotten egg smell can be sulfur. You may need a well flush but seek a well company on that for there advice as its not cheap .

As someone who has had a deep well drilled and found water, but water contaminated with iron and sulfur, I can tell you first hand about the rotten egg smell. The water softener will remove the iron that can turn clothes orange, but doesn't do anything to remove the rotten egg odor. You will need a charcoal (carbon) water filter to eliminate the sulfur smell.

Is the smell of mildew?

Run the washer on empty with beach and soap.

This is a common problem when the front door is left closed after use.

When the washer is not in use leave the front door cracked open. This will help in preventing mold & mildew.

Towel mildew odor is transferred from the washer to towels and clothes. The washer must be cleaned first. After cleaning the washer and towels washing habits must change to stop mold smell from returning.

Washing machine mold / mildew is caused by:
#1 cause is overuse of detergents. Detergent companies are notorious for instructing to use too much detergent. Especially with soft water or when using liquid detergent no more than 1 tbsp of any detergent should be used.
#2 most common cause is using fabric softener because it's dispensed in the rinse cycle and will coat the inside of the outer tub with residue that is a food source for mold to grow.
#3 using only cold water for washing is fine but makes preventative maintenance very important. A weekly hot soak will dissolve odor-causing residue from inside your washer.
#4 not using the washer. If the clothes washer isn't used very often maintenance is especially important. If leaving for a vacation it's a good idea to clean your washer. Do a search to "remove washer odor" to read just how big the problem is. There are all natural washer cleaners that will also remove mildew odor from towels and clothing after the washer has been cleaned.

The first thing to do is to CHECK IN AND AROUND THE RUBBER DOOR BOOT (called a bellow) for small articles of clothing (like socks and underwear) that may have gotten lodged in behind the rubber. Pull the rubber back where it meets the wash tub and look behind it. It is common for small items to get stuck here, become forgotten and start to mildew. You should check this area after each wash and clean it periodically to get rid of the formation of soap scum, mold, and mildew. HINT: When you get ready to wash a load of towels, take a dirty towel and clean the door boot thoroughly (including the areas behind the rubber). Immediately place the towel in the wash and run it on a sanitary cycle. This way you eliminate the need for cleaning rags.

PERIODICALLY RUN THE WASHER ON A CLEANING CYCLE. Place the washer on the hottest setting you have (usually a Sanitary cycle) with nothing but bleach in the wash tub. Some newer models actually have a "Clean Cycle" available now just for this purpose. This helps keep the wash tub, drain lines and pump sanitized.

CHECK AND CLEAN THE DRAIN PUMP FILTER. Accumulations of debris in the drain pump filter can also cause odors. HINT: If you own a shop vac, pull the drain hose from the standpipe at the wall and pull a vacuum on the line. This will drain any residual water left in the tub, pump and drain lines BEFORE you remove the drain pump cover. This will prevent a messy clean up later.

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN IF POSSIBLE. When not in use, leave the door open to allow the tub to air out and to keep mold and mildew from forming on the door bellow. I know this may not be desirable in some households with small children. If too much mildew forms on the rubber and it cannot be removed, replacement of the bellow may be required.

NOTE: This problem is common with front loader style washing machines. The doors on these machines have an air tight/water tight seal that is great for sealing the washer during the wash cycle, but can be terrible for collecting small garments and for not allowing the tub to properly air out when not in use. Following these simple preventive measures can go a long way towards preventing harmful mold and mildew, and towards extending the life of the door bellow and pump.



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The smell of rotten eggs normally means you have some water that has been sitting arround awhile and has gone bad. You may have to unplug your machine and remove the front cover to take a look arround the inside of your machine to see if any water has leaked out and has puddled up. You may also have something caught in the drain pump's filter, which may have gone rotten from sitting around too long. This filter is easy to unscrew and gain access to once you have the front cover off. Make sure you have lots of towels or a wet vac handy when you unscrew the filter cover.

The first thing to do is to CHECK IN AND AROUND THE RUBBER DOOR BOOT (called a bellow) for small articles of clothing (like socks and underwear) that may have gotten lodged in behind the rubber. Pull the rubber back where it meets the wash tub and look behind it. It is common for small items to get stuck here, become forgotten and start to mildew. You should check this area after each wash and clean it periodically to get rid of the formation of soap scum, mold, and mildew. HINT: When you get ready to wash a load of towels, take a dirty towel and clean the door boot thoroughly (including the areas behind the rubber). Immediately place the towel in the wash and run it on a sanitary cycle. This way you eliminate the need for cleaning rags.

PERIODICALLY RUN THE WASHER ON A CLEANING CYCLE. Place the washer on the hottest setting you have (usually a Sanitary cycle) with nothing but bleach in the wash tub. Some newer models actually have a “Clean Cycle” available now just for this purpose. This helps keep the wash tub, drain lines and pump sanitized.

CHECK AND CLEAN THE DRAIN PUMP FILTER. Accumulations of debris in the drain pump filter can also cause odors. HINT: If you own a shop vac, pull the drain hose from the standpipe at the wall and pull a vacuum on the line. This will drain any residual water left in the tub, pump and drain lines BEFORE you remove the drain pump cover. This will prevent a messy clean up later.

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN IF POSSIBLE. When not in use, leave the door open to allow the tub to air out and to keep mold and mildew from forming on the door bellow. I know this may not be desirable in some households with small children. If too much mildew forms on the rubber and it cannot be removed, replacement of the bellow may be required.

NOTE: This problem is common with front loader style washing machines. The doors on these machines have an air tight/water tight seal that is great for sealing the washer during the wash cycle, but can be terrible for collecting small garments and for not allowing the tub to properly air out when not in use. Following these simple preventive measures can go a long way towards preventing harmful mold and mildew, and towards extending the life of the door bellow and pump.



Thanks for using FixYa - a 4 THUMBS rating is appreciated for answering your FREE question.

Make sure the rubber door gasket is clean. Pull it back and clean under and around it. The gasket will collect dirt and begin to mildew causing various odors. Run the machine empty, boil a medium pot of water to almost boiling, then put it in the machine during the wash cycle. This will help clean the lines, during the rinse cycle place a 1/2 cup of vinegar in the unit. Make sure you are using HE detergent. 1-2 tablespoons will due. If your using liquid fabric softner, dilute it by half. These machine use less water than a typical top loader and can't dissolve regular detergent effectively. There by causing your lines to get clogged with gunk.

The brand of your front loader is not that material on this issue. What is happening is that your old top load washer may have used as much as 45 gallons of water per cycle, while some front loaders use as little as 12. Because of the low water use, you must cut back on the additives you are using. Use only 1 tablespoon of HE detergent (even less if 2x or 3x detergent) per load. If you use fabric softener, use only 1 teaspoon per load. Odor on clothes after wash is indicating that the detergent and or softener has not been fully rinsed out. If you throw a load of washed towels into your machine and start a cycle without any soap, then stop the cycle, you should not see any suds. If you do, there is obviously soap left in the clothes. With bath towels, the towels are used to absorb clean water off a clean body. They do not need soap when you wash them, and never use fabric softener on towels.
If your washer is a LG WM-1832 it has a assessable filter behind the access door on the lower left front of the machine. Clean that out first, and if it has a tub clean or sanitary cycle use that cycle (if not, use hottest longest cycle available) with 3 Affresh tablets or use whirlaway to clean out the washer outer tub (the not visible tub that holds the water). You might want to use another cycle like that with bleach to head off mold or mildew growth. Use of proper amount of detergent and fabric softener should really help the clothes odor issue from then on. Also check the tub seal at the bottom of the door area to clean out any lint from drain hole areas to help prevent water from remaining in the tub seal area.

Repair man told me this is common with front load washers. I was told to put Sunlight dish washing detergent (for dishwashers not hands) in the machine (about 1/2 cup) and do a hot wash with the machine empty.